Bent tectonics: How Hawaii was bumped off
Friday, April 3, 2009 - 09:56
in Earth & Climate
More than 80 undersea volcanoes and a multitude of islands are dotted along the Hawaii-Emperor seamount chain like pearls on a necklace. A sharp bend in the middle is the only blemish. The long-standing explanation for this distinctive feature was a change in direction of the Pacific oceanic plate in its migration over a stationary hotspot - an apparently unmoving volcano deep within the earth.